Since Monterrey 2002, a series of High-Level events have taken place, highlighting financing for development as a key priority on the international agenda. The year 2005 in particular was marked by expressions of strong support and commitment by the international community for Africa’s development.
In March 2010, during the 3rd Joint AU Conference of Ministers of Finance and Economy and ECA’s Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, held in Lilongwe, Malawi, ECA presented a progress report on the implementation of the Monterrey consensus on financing for development in the continent. The report shows that although some progress has been made post-Monterrey, this was insufficient to achieve the MDGs. The report indicated that very limited progress has been made in such core areas as domestic resource mobilization, foreign aid, trade and systemic issues. Hence, further commitments by both African countries and their development partners are considered essential if the objectives of the Monterrey Consensus are to be realized. The need was established for the rekindling of the spirit of global partnership for development generated in Monterrey and Doha. Efforts are thus required in order to deliver on longstanding commitments, many of them reaffirmed in Monterrey and Doha. The recently concluded Korea G20 Summit acknowledged the fact that greater resources need to flow to the developing countries as well as the fact that previous commitments by Donor Agencies have not been kept.
In addition, the recent November 2010 Meeting on Aid Effectiveness in Tunis organized by the NEPAD Planning and Co-ordinating Agency (NPCA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) in articulating the African position preparatory to Busan Korea 2011, acknowledged the fact that Aid from the traditional sources have been insufficient to propel Africa’s development and that there’s a great need to transit from the concept of Aid Effectiveness to Development Effectiveness. The AU Commission, in compliance with earlier Assembly Decisions, has also embarked on a series of studies aimed at identifying alternative sources of financing the Union in view of the AU’s increasing mandate and the need to secure adequate funds to finance continental projects such as the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA).
Finally, the Second Committee of the United Nations General Assembly (GA) adopted by consensus resolution number A/C.2/65/L.53 to hold the Fifth High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development on 7 and 8 December 2011 at the United Nations Headquarters. The GA invited the Regional Commissions to provide inputs and actively participate in that Dialogue. Addressing the aforementioned challenges facing financing for development in Africa and responding to the decision of the General Assembly resolutions on Africa’s preparatory process towards the December High level Dialogue of Financing for Development, FfD requires providing the appropriate forum and platform for high-level dialogue and debate. It is on this basis that ECA is organizing the Forum on FfD in collaboration with its key partners, the AUC and its NEPAD Agency, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and other partners (such as the UNDP, DESA, World Bank, IMF, etc).
